C-SPAN Reaches Streaming Deal with Hulu, YouTube TV/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ C-SPAN struck a deal to bring its three channels to YouTube TV and Hulu Live, resolving a standoff that cut into its revenue. The services will pay standard carriage fees while C-SPAN continues its no-ad policy. The move expands access as streaming grows and cable subscriptions decline.
C-SPAN Streaming Deal Quick Looks
- C-SPAN inks deal with YouTube TV and Hulu Live.
- Streaming services to pay same fee as cable/satellite (87 cents per subscriber annually).
- C-SPAN to maintain its no-advertising policy.
- Congressional resolution pressured Alphabet and Disney to carry C-SPAN.
- Politicians worried about losing airtime for sessions and hearings.
- C-SPAN once reached 100M homes, now about 70M with TV.
- Streaming TV users (~20M homes) previously had no C-SPAN access.
- Network revenues dropped from $64M (2019) to $45.4M (2023).
- CEO Sam Feist says deal boosts public access to government coverage.
- Agreement seen as lifeline for C-SPAN in cord-cutting era.
C-SPAN Reaches Streaming Deal with Hulu, YouTube TV
Deep Look
NEW YORK — C-SPAN announced Wednesday that it has struck a long-awaited deal to bring its public affairs programming to YouTube TV and Hulu Live, marking a major expansion of its reach into the streaming era.
The agreement comes after months of political and financial pressure on the network, which has seen its traditional cable viewership decline sharply as Americans shift to internet-based television.
Carriage Terms Mirror Cable and Satellite
Under the deal, both Alphabet-owned YouTube TV and Disney-owned Hulu Live will pay the same per-subscriber fee as cable and satellite providers — about 87 cents per year. Importantly, C-SPAN confirmed that its long-standing no-advertising policy will remain in effect.
Congressional Pressure Helped Drive Deal
Congress itself had intervened earlier this year, passing a resolution urging Alphabet and Disney to include C-SPAN in their streaming bundles. Lawmakers argued that because congressional sessions, hearings, and debates make up a core part of C-SPAN’s programming, the lack of streaming distribution limited public access to government proceedings.
Without inclusion on the streaming platforms, many elected officials found themselves with less exposure, prompting bipartisan calls for a resolution.
Declining Reach and Revenue
C-SPAN’s reach has contracted significantly since its peak a decade ago, when its channels were available in roughly 100 million U.S. households. With cord-cutting accelerating, only about 70 million homes still subscribe to traditional television. An estimated 20 million households now rely on live-streaming services such as YouTube TV and Hulu Live — audiences that until now could not access C-SPAN.
The lack of carriage on streaming platforms also hurt C-SPAN’s bottom line. The network’s revenues fell from nearly $64 million in 2019 to $45.4 million in 2023, a steep drop in just four years.
C-SPAN’s CEO: Deal Expands Public Access
C-SPAN CEO Sam Feist hailed the agreement as a win for both the network and the public. “We are proud that this agreement will give millions more Americans access to our unfiltered coverage of the nation’s political process,” Feist said in a statement.
The move comes as C-SPAN, launched in 1979, continues its mission of providing gavel-to-gavel, commercial-free coverage of Congress and public policy discussions.
Conclusion
By finally joining YouTube TV and Hulu Live, C-SPAN ensures that its programming will be available to a new generation of cord-cutters while stabilizing its financial model. For lawmakers and viewers alike, the deal reinforces the network’s role as a vital conduit for political transparency at a time of rapid change in how Americans consume television.
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